The Falls City Beavers will venture away from home to challenge the Freer Buckaroos at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Falls City is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.3 runs per game this season.
On Friday, Falls City didn't have quite enough to beat Charlotte and fell 2-1. The Beavers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Falls City saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Tyler Pawelek, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Freer, who bounced back after a loss on the road two weeks ago. They put the hurt on Ben Bolt with a sharp 10-0 victory on Wednesday. Considering the Buckaroos' hitters had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.
Oscar Luan was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out six over five innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with two runs and one RBI. He has become a key player for Freer: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 4-10-1 otherwise.
In other batting news, Aaron Espinoza and Trestin Guerra did most of the damage at the plate: Espinoza went a perfect 4-for-4 with three stolen bases, three runs, and two doubles, while Guerra went a perfect 3-for-3 with four runs, one triple, and one stolen base. Freer is undefeated when Espinoza posts two or more runs, but 7-10-1 otherwise. Player #2 was another key player, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with three stolen bases, two RBI, and one run.
Freer kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Ben Bolt only managed five.
Falls City's defeat dropped their record down to 13-12. As for Freer, their record now sits at 13-10-1.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Falls City has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Freer struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.